A week ago, the
Trump Administration released a draft of the proposed FY2018 budget.
My first instinct was to shrug it off. Congress creates the budget
and usually ignores anything in the president's budget it doesn't
agree with.
But then I saw a
proposed cut within NASA: the entire NASA Education office. And I was
up in arms. NASA Education initiatives and funding are what
kick-started my career in the space industry. It's the reason I am where I am today. NASA Education, just a measly 0.000225% of the FY2017 budget, has
wide-reaching results around the country for countless numbers of
students and the general public.
The NASA Space Grant
Consortium is under the NASA Education program. In all 50 states plus
Puerto Rico, students are given opportunities they wouldn't normally
have, especially if they don't live near a NASA center. US taxpayers
pay for NASA's $19 billion budget, and NASA gives back to taxpayers in so many
ways. NASA Education with its many programs such as Space Grant is a
way to reach back to all regions of the country.
For this
Philadelphian, NASA Education gave me my first two research
opportunities. After my freshman year of college, Delaware Space
Grant funded my astronomy research at Villanova University. (I'm not
sure why Delaware and not Pennsylvania; I didn't ask.) Pennsylvania
Space Grant approved my application for my first internship, NASA
Academy at Marshall Space Flight Center, which Florida Space Grant
ultimately paid for because I was enrolled in a Florida university.
With those two summers of research experience, I was accepted into my
top choice graduate school.
NASA Education funds
more than just internships. In grad school, I was awarded a NASA
Graduate Student Researchers Program (GSRP) fellowship. Being a NASA
GSRP fellow meant I could continue my studies in high-energy
astrophysics and continue to work with the team at NASA MSFC.
I also have Space
Grant to thank for giving me the opportunity to take one step closer
to my dream of becoming an astronaut. Florida Space Grant funded my
scientist astronaut training at the National Aerospace Training and
Research (NASTAR) Center where I received my Suborbital Scientist
Astronaut Training wings.
Space Grant also
sponsored my unofficial internship at NASA Kennedy Space Center's
Swamp Works. I conducted work beneficial to NASA's goals and related
to my doctoral research with Florida Space Grant's support.
And then there are NASA programs I participated in that NASA Education may have had a hand in, I'm not sure. As a high school sophomore, I job shadowed scientists and engineers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and attended a workshop for high schools about women in science, including NASA satellite engineers. I attended Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, which is privately funded but also benefits from NASA Education. Astronaut Sally Ride visited my high school when I was a senior to speak about inspiring children to pursue their dreams. Who knows what else NASA Education has touched in my life.
And this is just my
experience! So many of my colleagues have similar success stories
thanks to NASA Education. Just ask around.
Students younger than college-age also
benefit. I participated in FIRST Robotics in high school, which is
partly sponsored by NASA Education. Kindergarteners through postdocs and educators benefit from NASA Education programs. A full list is on the NASA Education website.
Is NASA Education
important to you? Contact your elected representatives to tell them
why. Ask them to fully fund NASA Education.
Thank you to the
Washington Post for covering this important issue and including my perspective regarding the importance of the NASA Education office. “A
lot of times the only way women or minorities can actually succeed is
through these grants. It's the only way they continue getting
funding.” Support NASA Education for the next generation.
